The Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program (AABP) was initiated in June 2003 with the arrival to BRIT of Dr. John Janovec, BRIT research botanist, and Amanda Neill, BRIT herbarium director. As a postdoctoral fellow under Dr. Scott Mori at The New York Botanical Garden, with a support from the Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) and the Beneficia Foundation, Janovec initiated the Botany of the Los Amigos Conservation Area project in Madre de Dios, Peru in 2001. This area was the first conservation concession in the world that is conserved and managed as an agreement between a non-profit conservation organization and the Peruvian government. The goal of the Los Amigos Botany project has been to provide a modern botanical synthesis for the Los Amigos Conservation Area in Madre de Dios, Peru, including print and digital botanical field guides for the 140,000 hectare area. Janovec and team are currently working to complete and publish several field guides, including, A Guide to the Plants of the Los Amigos Biological Station and Conservation Area, A Guide to the Fungi of Madre de Dios, Peru, and A Guide to the Mosses of Los Amigos River Watershed, Madre de Dios, Peru. A book, The Botany and Ecology of a Lowland Amazonian Rainforest: Amigos River, Madre de Dios, Peru, is being written by Janovec to document the history and results of the project, with comparisons to other sites in the region.
The AABP began as an expansion of the Los Amigos Botany project. The mission of the AABP is focused on the Andes-Amazon region of southeastern Peru. The Los Amigos Conservation Area and Biological Station managed by ACA in the Amazonian lowlands of Madre de Dios, Peru, has been the main center of field research for the Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program. The Wayqechas Cloud Forest Research and Conservation Area managed by ACA in the Andean highlands of the Department of Cuzco, Peru, has been the focus of intensive inventory and studies of general plant diversity, vegetation ecology, orchid diversity and ecology, and conservation. Studies have also been carried out at field sites in the upper Amazon of Madre de Dios and Cusco, Peru. This region in the Andes-Amazon of southeastern Peru provides an ideal elevational transect for studying the distribution and variation of floristic and faunal diversity and ecology of some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. The AABP team has been carrying out intensive and extensive studies of flora and fauna in this region. Their work also bridges technology development, ornamental plant horticulture, and organic agriculture. Local communities are directly involved in basic and applied projects, offering employment, education, work training, and a new appreciation for the long-term conservation of ecosystems in the region.
On October 25, 2005, BRIT finalized the process of establishing an international branch in Peru, called BRIT-Peru. This international branch enables BRIT to carry out all business associated with the project, such as paying salaries to Peruvian field researchers, owning field equipment, engaging in contracted services, and more. John Janovec, Project Director, and Keri McNew, Project Manager in Texas, worked closely with Renan Valega, Project Manager in Peru, to finalize this process that took almost one full year. The Peruvian environmental law team of the SPDA (Sociedad Peruana de Derechos Ambientales) provided essential consulting and direction in the process, as they carried out the hands-on work with Renan Valega in Lima, Peru. Janeth Randall, former AABP Project Manager, provided important contributions to the process in the beginning of 2005. Although now completely official in Peru, the AABP team will take one additional step, which is to establish BRIT-Peru as an International Cooperative Agency in Peru. This will open doors for BRIT in Peru by providing a strategic basis for expanding and improving relationships and partnerships with other organizations and institutions in Peru. With strategic plans in place and the work ongoing through BRIT-Peru, BRIT aims to become a leader in science, education, and conservation in Peru, with focus on plants, animals, and their interactions with the environment.
